Outdoors: Fly fishing techniques can enhance fun

Jul. 14, 2014

Written by

Dick Martin

CentralOhio.com

I suspect most anglers curl their lips a little when someone mentions fly fishing.

They conjure up thoughts of uppercrust yuppies splashing down a stream with a hat full of flies and well encumbered with net, wicker creel and vest seeking some wary brown trout. The thought has some truth to it.

Trout fishing with flies is an exacting and challenging business, much like making a 20-foot putt. It can bring a lot of satisfaction when you stick a hook into the lip of a fine two-pounder.

I love to fly fish for trout, and Iíve done so in states as far away as Wyoming and Colorado. But just as many long-rod anglers, I know a secret that other fishermen donít ó that 8- or 9-foot rod Iím waving is simply a lethal weapon. Itís good for plenty of fish other than trout, too.

I keep one rod, a sturdy 9-footer, strictly for bass, and started using it at least 30 years ago. The rod has accounted for untold numbers of fish, some of them caught when largemouths wouldnít look at a spinnerbait or plastic worm.

Picture a largemouth living in a farm pond, for example. He might eat a bluegill from time to time ó but much of his diet comes from small creatures such as frogs, grasshoppers fallen into the water, other insects such as dragonfly nymphs and so on.

So, you go one of two ways when visiting a farm pond or lake. If the pond is alive, which means fish are breaking on the surface and swirling around the weed beds and shoreline actively feeding, then go to a surface bug.

I like bass bugs 1Ĺ to 2 inches long. While I might use a hair frog, I prefer one of wood with an indented mouth. Cast that bug near the shoreline and bring it back slowly with lots of burbles, pops and occasional stops ó it looks exactly like what a hungry bass has been eating all of his life. Heís likely to strike.

If the pond or lake isnít alive and showing surface activity, Iíll go to a streamer fly. I particularly favor white maribou streamers with hair that puffs as you twitch it along. It looks like a small minnow, and thatís something else a bass has been eating all of his life.

Either way, youíre going to get action with clock-like frequency, sometimes so much that a haul of 20 bass isnít unusual for a morning or eveningís fishing. ó and do they fight.

Bassers accustomed to taking their fish on 20-pound test line usually have their victim in the boat in 30 seconds to one minute. That wonít happen on a fly rod. Even a one-pound fish can fight and leap for some time. Can you imagine what a 4-pounder will do?

With bluegills the story is exactly the same. If a pond or lake is showing surface activity, Iíll tie on a little popper, usually in red or yellow but sometimes green, and work it along the shore or around weed beds where theyíre feeding.

If nothing is happening on top, Iíll turn to wet flies in brown, black or green and twitch them along in the same places. On a much lighter fly rod, these little scrappers will turn sideways and fight like little tigers. In fact, even a chunky little half-pounder will surprise you.

Come spring, Iíve donated many hours to fly fishing bluegills on their spawning beds. Here, Iíll usually use 3 flies, two on short side lines and one on lineís end. Then I cast into the bed, wait for the line to twitch, strike gently, wait again for another twitch, and sometimes hook two or even three on one cast before I bring them in.

Again, itís a lethal weapon and lots of fun when youíre duking it out with two or three of the tasty little panfish at once.

Thatís not the end of the story.

Iíve fought it out with Lake Superior smallmouths using streamer flies and the scrap can be awesome.

If youíre looking for a fun sport, fly fishing is definitely it. The rewards are great and the catch often heavy indeed.

Dick Martin is a retired Shelby biology teacher and author who has written an outdoor column for more than 20 years. He can be reached at richmart@neo.rr.com.